Apollo Stumped
by xFictionalMenRTheRealThingx
Summary: Modern AU. Mell is a 23 year old graduate in Ancient Greek studies, with a soft spot for the god Apollo. Little does she know, that Apollo actually still exists, and overhears her critising him. With a scheming sister who notices all, who's to say what will happen...


**A/N: This is just a little experiment. I was doing some reading for uni, and was hit with a sudden 'what if?' moment. This is by no means polished or planned out, so my apologies if its a little jumbled. If I get any interest in it however, I will patch it up, and continue with it! Please do review etc, but please no flames!**

**Hope you enjoy it!**

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><p>As Apollo walked around the palace of Olympus ,searching out his sister, Cupid whizzed past him, shouting something back to him about a couple that needed his help. Apollo frowned. He knew what Cupid's arrows could do. It was thanks to one of those horrid leaden ones that his love for Daphne was never reciprocated. He slowed in his pace as he recalled some of his other lovers from over the millennia. There had been Marpessa, who had unfortunately seen right through him, choosing Idas instead of him, declaring that Apollo would just tired of her as she aged. <em>Sureley I wasn't that bad?<em> he thought. Who else had there been? Ah yes, Hecuba. What a charming woman she had been. With a slight twinge, Apollo remembered that he had also paid court to Hecuba's daughter, Cassandra. Back then, he hadn't thought twice about embarking on affairs with different members of the same family; afterall, Zeus did it all the time, didn't he? These days however, it was frowned upon even to marry your cousin! Oh, how he had loved Cassandra! Dear Cassandra….not only had she refused his gift of prophecy, but also him! _You would have thought you'd be used to it, by then_, Apollo told himself. As it was, it appeared that he wasn't, and taking her rejection rather badly, he gave her the gift anyway, along with a curse which meant no one would believe her. On reflection, Apollo realised that he was actually rather shallow - he admired external beauty, and cared little for the actual person. Artemis had always told him that no one would ever truly love him unless he got his act together.

Not finding Artemis in her chambers, Apollo decided to walk among the mortals, disguising himself in strange clothes. He felt awfully restricted as he pulled on what he believed were called 'jeans'. He was rather fond of his 'wooly jumper' though. Nice and warm. He loved to walk among the mortals, although he despaired of what they called 'music' these days. He greatly admired some of the older composers, such as Mozart, Beethoven and Vivaldi (he'd even lent a creative hand here and there), but found little to appreciate in these 'popular artists' that appeared a few centuries later.

As it was the middle of winter, Apollo thought he would visit a coffee shop. He had become remarkably fond of the mortal drink 'coffee'. So much so, that he would sometimes pop down in the middle of the day for a cup. They had nothing like that on Olympus, and after millennia after millennia of nectar, this 'coffee' made a nice change. He sat in the corner of the shop, idly listening to the conversations going on around him. The warmth of the room was starting to make him drowsy, but he started when he heard his name mentioned by a young woman a couple of tables away.

"Apollo. Now, he's my kind of guy: music, arts, archery.."

Her friend interrupted her. "Yeah, but don't forget about the plague business, Mell. On the other hand, he does make the sun rise…" Apollo was just about to open his mouth to say that wasn't actually him, when the first girl, Mell, pre-empted him.

"Nah, thats Helios, Kate. A common misconception though."

Apollo sat back, with an impressed grin. So, someone in this godforsaken age actually knew what they were talking about.

"He's a bit of a player though...but they all were. He was a bit of a dick too. I mean, what he did to Cassandra! I say kudos to her for refusing him! I" The girls laughed. Apollo scowled.

"You want to be careful with an expression like that, brother. Father might cook up a wind to keep it fixed there forever!" Apollo yelped at the sound of his sister's voice next to his ear.

"What are you doing here?" he exclaimed. Artemis shrugged.

"I was told you were looking for me." She glanced over at the two girls, who were still giggling. "But it looks like you are already occupied. How have they put that scowl on your face?"

Apollo's scowl returned. "The dark-haird girl, Mell, seems to know a bit too much about me. She called me a 'player'!"

Artemis grinned. "Finally, a challenge for my brother - a girl who knows her own mind, and doesn't put up with nonsense! Make sure you look up when I call you Matt" With that, she suddenly slipped out of the cafe, only to walk back in, and order a coffee. Apollo was still confused when she headed in his direction, and called "Hi, Matt!", and consequently appeared to trip over nothing, spilling coffee all over Mell.


End file.
